Bible stories are the most studied part of world literature; nevertheless, they continue to attract attention and cause heated debate. The hero of our review is the apostle Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ. Iskariot's name as a synonym for betrayal and hypocrisy has become a household word long ago, but is this accusation true? Ask any Christian: “Judas is who?” They will answer you: “This is the man who is guilty of the martyrdom of Christ.”
Name is not a sentence
We have long been accustomed to the fact that Judas is a traitor . The personality of this character is odious and undeniable. As for the name, Judah is a very common Hebrew name, and today they are often called sons. Translated from Hebrew, it means "praise to the Lord." Among the followers of Christ there are several people with this name, therefore, associate it with treachery, at least tactlessly.
The History of Judah in the New Testament
In the New Testament, the story of Judas Iscariot betraying Christ is presented very simply. That night in the Garden of Gethsemane, he pointed to Him to the servants of the high priests, received thirty silver coins for this, and when he realized the horror of what he had done, he could not stand the torment of conscience and strangled himself.
For the story of the period of the Savior's earthly life, the hierarchs of the Christian church selected only four works, the authors of which were Luke, Matthew, John and Mark.
The first in the Bible is the Gospel, attributed to one of the twelve closest disciples of Christ - Publican Matthew.
Mark was one of the seventy apostles, and his gospel dates back to the middle of the first century. Luke was not among the disciples of Christ, but, presumably, he lived at the same time with Him. His gospel belongs to the second half of the first century.
The last is the gospel of John. It was written later than the others, but contains information missing in the first three, from it we learn the most information about the hero of our story, an apostle named Judas. This work, like the previous ones, was selected by the Church Fathers from more than thirty other Gospels. Unrecognized texts were called apocrypha.
All four Books can be called parables, or memoirs of unknown authors, as it is not established for certain, neither who wrote them, nor when it was done. The authorship of Mark, Matthew, John and Luke, researchers question. It is a fact that the Gospels were at least thirty, but they were not included in the canonical assembly of scripture. It is assumed that some of them were destroyed during the formation of the Christian religion, while others are kept in strict secrecy. In the writings of the hierarchs of the Christian church there are references to them, in particular, from Irenaeus of Lyons and Epiphanius of Cyprus, who lived in the second or third centuries, the Gospel of Judah is mentioned.
The reason for the rejection of the apocryphal Gospels is the Gnosticism of their authors.
Irenaeus of Lyons - a famous apologist, that is, the protector and in many ways the founder of the nascent Christian dogma. He belongs to the establishment of the most basic tenets of Christianity, such as: the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, as well as the primacy of the Pope as successor to the Apostle Peter.
He expressed the following opinion regarding the personality of Judas Iscariot: Judas is a person who holds the orthodox views on faith in God. Iscariot, as Irenaeus of Lyons believed, was afraid that with the blessing of Christ, faith and the establishment of the fathers, that is, the Laws of Moses, would be abolished, and therefore became an accomplice in the arrest of the Master. Of the twelve apostles, only Judas came from Judea, for this reason it is assumed that he professed the faith of the Jews. The remaining apostles are Galileans.
The authority of the personality of Irenaeus of Lyons is not in doubt. In his writings there is criticism of the writings about Christ that existed at that time. In The Refutation of Heresies (175-185), he writes about the Gospel of Judah as a Gnostic work, that is, one that cannot be recognized by the Church. Gnosticism is a method of cognition based on facts and real evidence, and faith is a phenomenon from the category of the unknowable. The church requires obedience without analytical reflection, that is, an agnostic attitude towards itself, to the sacraments and to God Himself, for God is a priori unknowable.
Sensational document
In 1978, during excavations in Egypt, a burial was discovered, where, among other things, there was a papyrus scroll with the text signed as the "Gospel of Judah." The authenticity of the document is not in doubt. All possible studies, including textual and radiocarbon methods, gave the conclusion that the document was written in the period from the third to the fourth century of our era. Based on the above facts, it is concluded that the document found is a list from the Gospel of Judah, about which Irenaeus of Lyons writes. Of course, its author is not the disciple of Christ, the apostle Judas Iscariot, but some other Judas, who knew the story of the Son of the Lord well. In this Gospel, the person of Judas Iscariot is more clearly represented. Some of the events present in the canonical Gospels are supplemented with details in this manuscript.
New facts
According to the found text, it appears that the apostle Judas Iscariot is a holy man, and by no means a scoundrel, entrusted with the confidence in the Messiah in order to become rich or glorified. He was loved by Christ and almost devoted to him more than other disciples. It was Jude Christ who revealed all the secrets of Heaven. In the Gospel of Judah, for example, it is written that it was not the Lord God Himself who created the people, but the spirit of Saklas, the assistant of the fallen angel, who has a formidable fiery appearance, defiled by blood. Such a revelation was contrary to basic doctrines that were consistent with the views of the Fathers of the Christian Church. Unfortunately, the path of the unique document, before it fell into the careful hands of scientists, was too long and thorny. Most of the papyrus was destroyed.
The myth of Judah is a gross insinuation
The rise of Christianity is truly a mystery with seven seals. The constant fierce struggle against heresy does not paint the founders of the world religion. What is heresy in the understanding of priests? This opinion is contrary to the opinion of those who have power and strength, and in those days power and strength were in the hands of the papacy.
The first images of Judah were commissioned by church officials to decorate the temples. They dictated what Judas Iscariot should look like. Photos of frescoes by Giotto di Bondone and Cimabue, depicting a kiss of Judas, are presented in the article. Judas on them looks like a low, insignificant and disgusting type, the personification of all the most heinous manifestations of the human person. But is it possible to imagine such a person among the closest friends of the Savior?
Judah cast out devils and healed the sick
We well know that Jesus Christ healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons. The canonical Gospels say that He taught His disciples the same thing (Judas Iscariot is no exception) and ordered them to help all those in need and not to take any offerings for it. Demons were afraid of Christ, and when He appeared, they left the bodies of the people tormented by them. How did it happen that the demons of greed, hypocrisy, betrayal and other vices enslaved Judas, if he was constantly next to the Master?
First doubt
Question: “Who is Judas: a treacherous traitor or the very first Christian saint awaiting rehabilitation?” Millions of people ask themselves throughout the history of Christianity. But if in the Middle Ages autodafa was inevitably relied on for voicing this issue, nowadays we got the opportunity to get to the truth.
In 1905-1908 in the Theological Bulletin a series of articles was published by professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, Orthodox theologian Muretov Mitrofan Dmitrievich. They were called "Judas the Traitor."
In them, the professor expressed doubts that Judas, believing in the divinity of Jesus, could betray Him. After all, even in the canonical Gospels there is no complete agreement regarding the love of money of the apostle. The story of thirty pieces of silver looks inconclusive both in terms of the amount of money and the point of view of the love of money of the apostle - it is too easy for him to part with them. If the craving for money was his vice, then other disciples of Christ would hardly have entrusted him to manage the treasury. With community money in his hands, Judas could take it and leave his comrades. And what are thirty pieces of silver received by him from the high priests? Is it a lot or a little? If it is a lot, then why the greedy Judas did not leave with them, and if it is a little, then why did he even take them? Muretov is convinced that the love of money was not the main motive for the actions of Judah. Most likely, the professor believes, Judas could betray his Master because of disappointment in His Teaching.
The Austrian philosopher and psychologist Franz Brentano (1838-1917), regardless of Muretov, made a similar opinion.
Jorge Luis Borges and Anatole France in the actions of Judah saw self-sacrifice and submission to the will of God.
Messiah Old Testament Parish
In the Old Testament there are prophecies telling about the coming of the Messiah - He will be rejected by the priesthood, betrayed for thirty coins, crucified, resurrected, and then a new Church will arise in His name.
Someone had to transfer the Son of God into the hands of the Pharisees for thirty coins. This man was Judas Iscariot. He knew the Scriptures and could not help but understand what he was doing. Having completed the commandment of God and sealed by the prophets in the books of the Old Testament, Judah accomplished a great feat. It is possible that he had discussed the future with the Lord in advance, and a kiss is not only a sign to the servants of the high priests, but also a farewell to the Master.
Being the closest and most trusted disciple of Christ, Judas took upon himself the mission of being the one whose name will be forever damned. It turns out that the Gospel shows us two sacrifices - the Lord sent His Son to the people, so that He would take upon himself the sins of mankind and wash them off with His blood, and Judas would sacrifice himself to the Lord, so that what was spoken through the Old Testament prophets would be fulfilled. After all, someone had to fulfill this mission!
Any believer will say that, confessing faith in the Triune God, it is impossible to imagine a person who has felt the grace of the Lord upon himself and has not been transformed. Judah is a man, not a fallen angel or demon, so he could not be an unfortunate exception.
The story of Christ and Judah in Islam. Foundation of the Christian Church
In the Qur'an, the story of Jesus Christ is presented differently than in the canonical Gospels. There is no crucifixion of the Son of God. The main book of Muslims claims that someone else took the face of Jesus. This one was executed instead of the Lord. In medieval editions it is said that Judas took on the form of Jesus. In one of the apocrypha there is a story in which the future apostle Jude Iscariot appears. His biography, according to this testimony, has been intertwined with the life of Christ since childhood.
Little Judas was very sick, and when Jesus approached him, the boy bit him on the side, in the same side, which was later pierced with a spear by one of the soldiers guarding those who were crucified on the crosses.
Islam considers Christ a prophet whose teachings have been distorted. It seems very true, but the Lord Jesus foresaw this state of things. Once He said to his disciple Simon: “You are Peter, and on this stone I will create My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail over it ...” We know that Peter renounced Jesus Christ three times, in fact, betrayed Him three times. Why did he choose this particular person to found his church? Who is the greatest traitor - Judas or Peter, who in his own word could save Jesus, but refused to do this three times?
The gospel of Judah cannot deprive true believers of love for Jesus Christ
It is difficult for believers who have experienced the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to accept that Christ was not crucified. Is it possible to worship the cross if facts are revealed that contradict those recorded in the four Gospels? How to relate to the sacrament of the Eucharist, during which believers partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord, who received martyrdom on the cross in the name of saving people, if there was no painful death of the Savior on the cross?
“Blessed are those who have not seen and believed,” said Jesus Christ.
Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ know that He is real, that He hears them and answers all prayers. This is the main thing. And God continues to love and save people, even though in the temples again, as in the time of Christ, there are shops of merchants offering to buy sacrificial candles and other items for the so-called recommended donation, many times higher than the cost of items sold. The crafty price tags evoke a feeling of closeness of the Pharisees, who have brought to justice the Son of God. However, you should not wait for Christ to come back to earth and drive with a stick a merchant from His Father's House, as He did this more than two thousand years ago with merchants of sacrificial doves and lamb. It is better to believe in the Providence of God and not fall into the sin of condemnation, but to accept everything as a gift of God for the salvation of immortal human souls. It is no coincidence that He commanded the founding of His Church to a triple traitor.
Time for a change
Probably, the discovery of an artifact known as the Codex of Chakos with the Gospel of Judas is the beginning of the end of the legend of the villain Judas. The time has come to reconsider the attitude of Christians towards this person. After all, it was hatred towards him that generated such a disgusting phenomenon as anti-Semitism.
The Torah and the Qur'an were written by people who were not attached to Christianity. For them, the story of Jesus of Nazareth is just an episode from the spiritual life of mankind, and not the most significant one. But is the hatred of Christians towards Jews and Muslims compatible (the details of the crusades make the knights of the cross horrified and cruel) with their main commandment: “Love one another!”
The Torah, the Qur'an and famous, respected Christian scholars do not condemn Judah. Nor will we. After all, the apostle Judas Iscariot, whose life we briefly touched upon, is no worse than other disciples of Christ, the same apostle Peter, for example.
The future is in renewed Christianity
The great Russian philosopher Nikolai Fedorovich Fedorov, the founder of Russian cosmism, who gave impetus to the development of all modern sciences (astronautics, genetics, molecular biology and chemistry, ecology and others) was a deeply religious Orthodox Christian and believed that the future of mankind and its salvation is precisely in Christian doctrine . We should not condemn the past sins of Christians, but strive not to commit new ones, be kinder and more merciful to all people.